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Monday, 29 October 2012

Recipe: Roasted Tomato Sauce

Last week was a busy one for me (did I mention I won a Champagne dinner at Hotel du Vin?!) and with no time for shopping, the contents of the fridge were far from inspiring. A sad little bag of tomatoes sat right at the back of the shelf (the last of this year's crop from our back garden), begging to be eaten up before they rotted away. Slow-roasted in the oven and made into a hot sauce, just in time to capture the last of the sweet taste of summer, the tomatoes made a lovely little supper...

I roasted the tomatoes in the oven at a low heat with a good glug of olive oil, a couple of bashed garlic cloves, some roughly chopped chunks of onion and a sprinkling of red chilli flakes. When soft, squishy and golden brown round the edges, I tipped the whole lot into a bowl and mashed all the veg, juices, oil and seasoning into a thick sauce.

Meanwhile, I fried a little bacon (chopped into lardons) in a non-stick frying pan and added the sauce, mixing well until it started to bubble. Then some chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, salt and pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar were stirred into the pan, covered, and simmered for 15-20 minutes on a low heat until thick and rich in flavour.

I like to add more spice to tomato sauces so I chucked in some more chilli flakes, to taste, and served the sauce on some spaghetti squash (one of my favourite winter vegetables) with a big dollop of naughty herby cream cheese. Easy!